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A BEAUTIFUL GEM 




JI YUNG IN HER GRADUATING DRESS, THE LONG-DESIRED 
DIPLOMA IN HER HAND. 



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JI YUNG 

A BEAUTIFUL GEM 



LETTERS FROM A CHINESE 
SCHOOLGIRL 



BY 

JANIE H. WATKINS 



Smith & Lamar, Agents 

Publishing House of the M. E. Church, South 

Nashville, Tenn. 

Dallas, Tex. Richmond, Va. 

1912 



>%1 



Copyright, iqii 

BY 

Smith & Lamar 



/"^To 



©CI.A846143 



THE DEAR SISTER 
WHO TAUGHT MB 
TO LOVB MISSIONS 



INTRODUCTION. 



The revelation of a young girl's character 
through her own words, written with girlish 
abandon to her trusted friend and teacher, sums 
up in a sentence the contents of this book, en- 
titled "A Beautiful Gem." Girlhood in any 
land is full of charm to people who think of 
its latent possibilities for growth and beauty; 
but the unfolding of the character of a young 
girl of high rank in Ching. has an added attrac- 
tion for students of life as well as of missions 
because the opportunities for such a psycholog- 
ical study are rare. 

Miss Janie H. Watkins, a missionary of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and a 
member of the faculty of the Laura Haygood 
Memorial, in Soochow, China, has rendered a 
beautiful service in collating the letters of Ji 
Yung written to her while this attractive young 
girl was her pupil. 

As Miss Watkins received her training in 
the Scarritt Bible and Training School, we feel 
pride akin to hers in the unfolding of Ji Yung's 

(7) 



8 INTRODUCTION. 

character under her influence as shown forth in 
these letters. Our pride extends beyond hers 
to the teacher whose affection and interest 
helped to mold and mature her pupil. We com- 
mend the book to members of young people's 
societies and to young women who enjoy a 
charming story. 

The Oriental setting of this beautiful gem is 
given in etching only by Miss Watkins in her 
desire to let Ji Yung portray her own life and 
character. She entered the Laura Haygood 
Memorial at thirteen, and then the polishing of 
the gem began. She remained a heathen sev- 
eral years, and her teacher wrote: "To the 
daily study of the Bible Ji Yung brought a 
heart steeped in prejudice." But God laid this 
young girl on tfie hearts of her teachers, and 
the transformation of her life — a miracle of 
grace — was their reward. 

The schoolgirl's letters compass the great 
events of her life — her conversion, marriage, 
and graduation — and record the fact that after 
their marriage her husband, a nephew of one of 
the Grand Councilors of the realm, had entered 
Soochow University to continue his studies. 
The book closes leaving the young couple as 
students In Soochow, and one feels that a 



INTRODUCTION. 9 

sequel must be written in which we must find a 
faithful portrayal of Ji Yung and her husband, 
Mr. K. Y. Tsz, as enlightened, earnest, educated 
Christians fiilfilling their obligations in New 
China. 

The story of her life is not ended, and as we 
read the last page we felt that we were leaving 
Ji Yung 

A lovely being scarcely formed or molded, 
A rose with all its sweetest leaves yet folded. 

Maria Layng Gibson. 

Kansas City, Mo., November 22, 191 1. 



FOREWORD. 



The story of this young girl told in America 
never failed to interest those who heard. Aft- 
erwards came the thought that she might speak 
for herself through her letters, and in this way 
a larger number of people might get an insight 
into her heart and life and might better under- 
stand and love the womanhood of China. To 
enlist interest in her and in many others is the 
"why" of this little volume. The letters have 
been copied just as they were written by her. 
The meaning of the last syllable of her given 
name suggested the title, "A Beautiful Gem." 

(II) 



A BEAUTIFUL GEM. 




|HE early setting of this beautiful 
gem is thoroughly Oriental. The 
house, built at the close of the 
Tai-ping Rebellion, and perhaps the 
most beautiful in the city, is surrounded by 
high walls. Within are many apartments and 
dim, narrow corridors, where an uninitiated 
Westerner could lose the way many times. 
There is also a quiet, picturesque garden with 
shrubs and flowers, rockeries, and a miniature 
lake — all making a bit of restful and pictur- 
esque scenery. Several generations have lived 
in this house, since it is the custom in Chinese 
families for each son to bring his bride to the 
ancestral home. Here Ji Yung grew up with 
her sisters and brothers, and there were almost 
an equal number of amahs, or women servants, 
to watch over the children. 

The city is Wusih, a progressive, cultured 
place thirty miles from the more widely known 
city of Soochow. Within the past five years a 

(13) 



14 A BEAUTIFUL GEM. 

railroad has been built between Shanghai, "on 
the sea/' and Nanking, the old Southern capital 
of the first Ming emperor; and this railroad 
passes through Wusih. But in the days of Ji 
Yung's childhood the railroad with its fast 
trains was a thing undreamed of for China; 
perhaps heard of, however, from the grand- 
father as he told the children stories of things 
he had seen in the busy cities of Europe when 
he served his government as ambassador to 
Italy, Holland, Germany, and to the Court of 
St. James. 

The great highway of travel at that time 
was the Grand Canal, which passes near her 
door. This triumph of human labor was com- 
pleted in the time of Kublai Khan, between 
1280 and 1294, for the easy transportation of 
tribute rice to his capital of Cambulu, or Pe- 
king. The junks on the canal with their ma- 
jestic sails were doubtless objects of interest 
and wonder to her childish eyes. 

The women of other generations in her fam- 
ily had been more or less content to live the 
conventional life of the secluded Chinese wom- 
an of her time, with its weary monotony and 
enervating luxury. But a strong undercurrent 
of dissatisfaction, as well as forces from with- 



A BEAUTIFUL GEM. 15 

out, were bringing new factors into play in the 
education of young women. When Ji Yung 
and her sisters were growing into the school- 
girl age and beginning the study of the written 
character with teachers in the home, mission 
schools were being built where girls of their 
position could go and be real schoolgirls. At 
about thirteen she entered the Laura Hay- 
good Memorial^ in Soochow. Quite notice- 
able was the pale, delicate girl, earnest in her 
school work, but cold and unloving in her atti- 
tude toward the other girls. With her entrance 
the polishing of the gem began. 

Grammar, arithmetic, history, and music 
were the first subjects that claimed the atten- 
tion of her eager, questioning mind. In the 
course of the next few years she advanced to 
rhetoric, literature, botany, physiology, chemis- 
try, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, ethics, 
psychology, logic, and astronomy — all of which 
she pursued in the English language, besides 
Latin and a course in classic Chinese. In 
each of these, in turn, she proved to be a quick, 
diligent, and thorough student in whom her 
teachers found pleasure. An upright and 
truthful character is part of her heritage from 
a noble ancestry. 



l6 A BEAUTIFUL GEM. 

Among the subjects that she took up in the 
curriculum there was one entirely new, one 
which she had never thought of even in an 
elementary way, and that was the Bible, with 
its story of the great loving heart of the Eter- 
nal wrought out in the cross before human 
eyes. To the daily study of the Bible she 
brought a heart steeped in prejudice. From the 
first she was laid on her teachers' hearts, and 
there was direct, earnest prayer for her, fol- 
lowed by personal approach on the subject of 
salvation. The answers, though always polite, 
were such as to show an unconvinced mind and 
heart; and we knew that we must "bide a 
time." But we were not without cause for hope 
as we watched for several years the transforma- 
tion of her daily life. The cold-hearted girl be- 
came the friend to all who were sick or lonely ; 
the ambitious girl became the tutor to smaller 
girls who were learning to "totter" in the road 
to English ; the proud girl became the one who 
was called on for various services. And we who 
watched her smiled and said : "She is near the 
kingdom." The freshness of spring now 
clothing the grass and trees of our Trueheart 
Home lawn is not more pleasing than the un- 
folding of a human heart and the lighting up 



A BEAUTIFUL GEM. 17 

of a young girl's countenance. She grew from 
childhood to womanhood in our midst, and we 
took more pleasure in her each year. 

At the end of her sixth year she wrote the 
letter here introduced. It tells its own story. 

My Dear Teacher: Thank you so much for 
your kindness to me, and I wish I can become 
of what you said. I read the Bible carefully 
this morning, and I did find a comfort in it. 

I love not the honors and pleasures of this 
world ; so although this man is the son of Chang 
Chih Tong's sister, and his father is one of the 
higher officers of the province Hunan, I don't 
please at all. I wish rather to be a teacher, that 
I can always help others and do work. Truly 
a very unfortunate girl I am, and it seems no 
one can help me; yet I decide to go forward 
bravely and do what is right. I hope very 
much that I can always find comfort and help 
in the Bible. I am willing to try to love 
God and Christ with all my heart as I love 
you. With many thanks. 

Your loving pupil, Ji Yung. 



l8 A BEAUTIFUL GEM. 

This letter came as the result of a long con- 
versation on the school lawn one Sunday after- 
noon. She had come for comfort; had come 
to tell that the marriage arranged in early 
childhood must be completed now. That she 
had strong ambition and had gained new ideas 
for her life was apparent. Poor child! my 
heart ached for her, and the sympathy and 
comfort I tried to give were sincere. My only 
hope for her then was that when she should 
enter into this new home, hundreds of miles in 
the interior, she might go as a Christian. This 
letter shows the state of her own mind the next 
morning. 

The letter held a surprise for me. She says : 
"This man [even that much of reference to 
the betrothed or married is not the custom of 
Chinese women] is the son of Chang Chih 
Tong's sister." I knew Chang Chih Tong as 
one of the Grand Councilors of the realm, a 
Chinese statesman who had won by his own 
integrity a place for himself near the Manchu 
throne. Soon after that time Chang Chih Tong 
died. The regent commissioned one of the roy- 
al princes to weep before his coffin, and ordered 
memorial temples built in the two provinces he 
had served as viceroy. 



A BEAUTIFUL GEM. 19 

After a few weeks she sent another letter. 

My Dear Teacher: I want to thank God, for 
he has mercy on me and opens my heart to 
recognize Christ as my Saviour now. Though 
I am unworthy to be called a Christian, I can 
say that I love Jesus and believe that he died 
for my sin. But my heart is still troubling over 
one thing which many times makes me to re- 
fuse to be called and saved by Christ — that is 
when I think about the unbelieving of my whole 
family. My mother is believing in worship- 
ing idols from her youth up to now, and my 
father, with the rest of the family, believes 
nothing to be worshiped in this world. They 
are very hard to be converted, because I know 
their hearts ; so I am very sorry. Since all my 
dear ones at home cannot be saved, I will not 
myself to be saved alone, and I am willing to be 
perished with them. Though I know that God 
has great power, and that he can change every 
one's heart, it is how hard to change my family. 
O, I want my home and country to be saved ! 



20 A BEAUTIFUL GEM. ' 

How sorry I am for the sins and ignorance of 
my country! Now I will ask you to pray to 
God that he will change the hearts of my fa- 
ther, mother, and all my family. I love you, 
and I am sure that you will help me. 

One thing I will also tell you, that I have 
never made a certain prayer to God, because I 
cannot. Sometimes I try to make a short 
prayer to God, but feel that no one receives it. 
It is because my heart is full of sin so I cannot 
talk with God, I know. 

I am not well to-day, and I am afraid I can- 
not go out to the service this afternoon; but 
I will see if by tfiat time I am strong enough to 
go. I wonder that I have so many things to 
trouble in my heart, and I cannot tell you all. 
Many things cannot be done as I hope, and I 
do not know what shall I be later. I am will- 
ing to give up all myself to God, and I wish that 
in this life I can always do God's work and help 
others, then I suppose I will be happy. With 
sincere love. 

Your pupil, Ji Yung. 



A BEAUTIFUL GEM. 2 1 

This letter was written during the first of the 
annual revival seasons Soochow has been en- 
joying for several years. 

Sometimes in praying the question, "How 
long?" had come; but this letter, with its glo- 
rious news, inspired our minds to ask, "So 
soon?" The days, weeks, and years vanished 
in the presence of victory. Any one who won- 
ders at her expression of unwillingness to be 
saved without her family must remember sim- 
ilar expressions from Moses and Paul. It 
seems a witness of the sincerity and reality of 
the work done. Ji Yung stood to confess 
Christ before the school and took her place as 
a Christian, contributing money and teaching 
in the "ragged" Sunday school. 

On the day the school closed for the summer 
holiday I found this letter on my table : 

My Dearest Teacher: Several months ago I 
did not know that I will leave you and the 
school this time ; but when my father sent for 
me that time he told me that I cannot go to 
school any longer, and the reason I have al- 
ready told you. At hearing this I was exceed- 
ingly sorry, and begged him to think out any 



22 A BEAUTIFUL GEM, 

plan for me ; but he said that he could not, be- 
cause he had no right to refuse them strongly. 
So he is about to let me marry sometime in the 
summer or after it, and I believe that this will 
happen. I am praying to God that he will 
change this if he pleases. 

How sorry I am to leave you I cannot de- 
scribe with my pen. For six years we have 
been together and have loved each other. After 
my departure I suppose we will not meet again 
anywhere. 

Now my heart is full of sorrow over myself 
and all the sisters of my own country, who al- 
ways suffer worse than I. How poor it is to be 
a Chinese woman ! She is but a toy or slave to 
man. She cannot do what she pleases, and 
even has no chance to decide in her own life. 
The house I will go to is said to be very, very 
conservative, and every one there hates the new 
customs. They regard not the education of 
woman. So when I go there I may have good 
things to eat and fine dresses to wear, but I 
will only be a slave and will have no freedom 



A BEAUTIFUL GEM. 23 

at anything. I am not the girl who is content 
to enjoy the pleasures of ignorance, but rather 
to suffer and live ideally. So certainly I can- 
not endure to meet this thing. I think I will 
surely die before that time unless God helps 
me. My sisters, Van Yung and Ling Yung, 
are very fortunate, because they can study as 
long as they want to. I always hoped that after 
I had finished my study here I would go to 
study in America, your country. Now all these 
things seem impossible. But I hope I will have; 
a chance to visit your country during my life ; 
then I will be very happy. 

I will also tell you one thing. That is, since 
I have confessed I believe Christ most of my 
dear ones at home and many relatives displease 
me. They call me foolish and ignorant to be- 
lieve such things, and they said that though 
religion should be free and according to one's 
own conscience; but anyhow they are bitterly 
against this. There are many people in China 
who for religion's sake are badly treated even 
by their own parents, brothers, and sisters. I 



24 A BEAUTIFUL GEM, 

fear I will also happen this. So I think when 
I go home this time I will be very much dif- 
ferently treated. But I will be only patient at 
anything, and wish I can show a better char- 
acter in order to glorify God. O, I wish I will 
not return home this summer, and I want to be 
with you ! I am just like a struggling bird that 
will soon be shut into the cage. Pity me, dear 
teacher. 

In order to remind you of my perfect, un- 
broken love, please take this jade ring; and if 
you do not like it, only please keep it as a token 
of my love. The napkin ring I meant to send 
you when you go to America, but now I can- 
not see you at that time. The characters on it 
mean that, though we are separated thousands 
of miles by oceans, we will always remember 
each other. 

Farewell. I hope you will be always happy, 
strong, peaceful, and full of God's grace. 

Your affectionate pupil, Ji Yung. 

The fear of the last few months had become 
a reality. The mother-in-law had died, and the 



A BEAUTIFUL GEM. 25 

family was insisting that she come into the 
home to take her rightful place, that of the 
eldest son's wife, as head of the household. 

That night we had a talk in the prayer room, 
where tears — unusual in a Chinese girl — showed 
the depths of her sorrow. To receive a diploma 
from the school was the goal toward which she 
had been looking for years ; and to give up now 
within a year and a half of its accomplishment 
to marry a man she had never seen and go 
far away — all this made comfort impossible. 
Young women in our homeland who have 
easier access to the world of learning, or those 
who willingly leave school for the pleasure of 
a debut into society, can scarcely understand 
the grief that Ji Yung felt. She had burst the 
strong bonds of custom that had held the wom- 
en of her nation; she had tasted some of the 
rich pleasures of a thorough education ; and in 
front of her lay disappointment. What she 
loved and valued most in life was gone. As 
she went away next day her pathetic face would 
have touched a heart of stone. And some of 
the life of the school seemed to go out with her. 

The next letter was not written from her 
home, but from Shanghai, where she had gone 
with her mother, who was seriously ill. 



26 A BEAUTIFUL GEM. 

Yung Tai Silk Factory, 
Shanghai, July 7. 

My Dear Teacher: Several days ago I re- 
ceived your letter with great pleasure, but could 
not answer you soon. Thank you for the card 
of Miss Woo that you mailed me. 

I cannot tell you how much I miss you. Now 
I am in Shanghai and in our own factory. It 
is nearly midnight now, but I cannot sleep, and 
I am alone. It is raining and thundering, 
which makes me more sorry to think about 
myself and more to think about God's power 
and thankful for his loving-kindness. Who 
can know my , loneliness and sadness now ? 
Only God knows me, I believe. I am thinking 
of you earnestly, and I must rise and write to 
you. 

To-day, after dinner, my mother and I went 
to the Margaret Williamson Hospital. The 
doctors there are very kind. We will go there 
again to-morrow, and Dr. Reifsnyder will ex- 
amine my mother carefully to see her blood 
with the microscope. How happy I will be if 



A BEAUTIFUL GEM. 27 

my mother will be well and strong again! I 
am not well too, because every time I go out 
I will be very carriage-sick. Though Shang- 
hai is a busy and beautiful place, full of merry 
people, I do not like to stay here. I love Wusih 
and Soochow better. 

I am glad Miss Pyle has written us a letter, 
and am very anxious to see that. Certainly, I 
often think of Miss Pyle, and will be glad to 
see her again when she returns from America. 

Since my mother is sick, my affair is not 
mentioned at home, and all the family are sorry 
and afraid of my mother. Van Yung is 
keeping house now, and I take care of my 
mother. 

Good-by. I hope you will be very strong and 
have a happy time at school. With most sin- 
cere love. 

Your affectionate pupil, Ji Yung. 

Margaret Williamson Hospital, 
Shanghai, July 16. 
My Dear Teacher: I received your letter with 
great pleasure just now. I am very glad to 



28 A BEAUTIFUL GEM. 

hear that your eyes are good and need not 
glasses. 

Wednesday I left the hospital without any 
dinner, because I hoped to see you ; and when 
I could not find you, I was certainly disappoint- 
ed. But I was very happy in hearing Mr. Mey- 
er preach, though I could not understand all. 

Last Sunday I went to the church here, and 
I enjoyed the sermon very much. The preacher 
said that every Christian must not be unhappy ; 
and, moreover, if one is unhappy, he cannot 
raise his voice to praise God. It is true, and I 
will make myself happy now, whatever happens 
to me. We will leave here next Monday. With 
love. 

Your faithful pupil, Ji Yung. 

Having gone to Shanghai to hear the cele- 
brated English divine, F. B. Meyer, preach in 
the Union Church, I had made an effort to take 
Ji Yung to one of the services. 

Yuan Tai Silk Filature. 
My Dear Teacher: Your letter was received 
several days ago, and I did not write soon be- 



A BEAUTIFUL GEM, 29 

cause I wanted to send this picture. We left 
the hospital on Tuesday, and now we are stay- 
ing here. We decided to return home to-day; 
but my mother is very sick now, so we will go 
home to-morrow or day after it. My mother's 
sickness cannot be healed in a short time, but 
she is very homesick and decides to go home, 
anyhow. 

My school pin was lost, and I am very sorry, 
because I have used it for many years. But a 
new one is already made, and it is larger than 
the old pin. Is Miss Tarrant with you ? Please 
send her my love. I read the Bible every day. 
With sincere love. 

Your faithful pupil, Ji Yung. 

The next letter was written from her home, 
after she had her mother returned to Wusih. 
She was sick ; the heat was intense ; the family 
scolded because she had become a Christian. 
Altogether it was the saddest letter I ever read. 
I burned it. When the next letter came, I 
dreaded reading it, for I was suffering with 
her. 



30 A BEAUTIFUL GEM. 

West Gate, Wusih, August 4. 
My Dear Teacher: I received your letter last 
Saturday. My mother is better now. I am 
still not well. My father knows that I am 
an eager-hearted girl, and always have no pa- 
tience to endure anything against my will, and 
he fears I shall die. So he said to me yes- 
terday that if I will promise that I will not be 
baptized in the school, he has a plan to let me 
go to school again. He has already written 
several letters to my father-in-law to tell him 
that it is impossible for me to marry at this 
time, because I am very weak and I am also too 
young. My brother-in-law, Vung Yung's hus- 
band, with some others who are all relatives 
to my father-in-law, also wrote a letter to him 
and persuaded him to invite an old lady to keep 
his house and also let his son go to some school 
for several years. My, father said that he will 
let me become a Christian after marriage. So 
now I promise him that I will not be baptized 
in the school. But I truly believe in my heart ; 
and when I have a chance, I will do what I 




JI YUNG AND HER OLDER SISTER. 



A BEAUTIFUL GEM. 31 

want to. I hope you will not think that I am 
a weak girl in faith. I do this only because I 
think that if I can constantly believe in my heart, 
it makes no difference for me to be baptized 
earlier or later ; but if I can still go to the school 
and often hear the beautiful teachings, my faith 
will be strengthened and my character can be 
improved. Certainly, I am very much afraid to 
go to Hunan, which is very far from here, and 
live with those unknown persons. Now I am 
very happy, because there is sorrie hope for me 
to go to school again. 

When I am well, I will teach my brothers 
language lessons and Ling Yung her grammar. 
I will also try to study some history. When 
will Miss Pyle reach China? I will be very 
happy to see her again. 

It is not very hot now. I hope you will be 
very strong and have a good rest at school. 
My mother and sisters send their love to you. 
With most sincere love. 

Your faithful pupil, Ji Yung. 



^2 A BEAUTIFUL GEM. 

Our almost faithless prayers had been an- 
swered, and Ji Yung could come back to com- 
plete her work. There was an undertone of 
song in my heart for days. 

West Gate, Wusih, August 9. 

My Dear Teacher: Your letter was received 
with pleasure last Saturday. I am better now. 
I hope you are also very strong at school. 

My father is sick, and most of the time I take 
care of him, so he is very fond of me. Yester- 
day my mother sent me to the hospital to get 
my father's medicine and also my own from 
Dr. Lee, who is very kind to us. The church 
is very near th^ hospital, and I am so glad that I 
took the opportunity to enter there and worship 
God. That was the first time I went to the 
church in Wusih, and at home no one knows 
this, because I did not take any servant. 

My eldest brother is very affectionate with 
me, so I often talk with him about God. He 
is anxious to be a good boy, and he likes the 
Bible very much. He said to me that he will 
become a Christian with me later. But he does 



A BEAUTIFUL GEM. 33 

not look at this thing as so important, because 
he does not feel he has sins yet. 

Wai Wai wrote to ask me to visit her. I 
think I will go to-morrow. 

I am very sorry to hear that Me Vong is 
dead, also Su Ziang's father. I think Su Ziang 
cannot go to school again, because her step- 
mother is very cross to her. I am in sympathy 
with Su Ziang. 

My mother and sisters send love. With sin- 
cere love. 

Your faithful pupil, Ji Yung. 

West Gate, Wusih, August 16. 

My Dear Teacher: Your letter was received 
this Sunday when I just returned from my sis- 
ter's home. I am well, but not very strong, so 
I rest all the time. 

I am glad that the school will open soon and 
we will meet again. I think you are very busy 
now, but I hope you will be strong and happy. 
How many new pupils have you this time? I 
hope there are many to come. 

My two brothers will, I suppose, go to Japan 
3 



34 ^i BEAUTIFUL GEM. 

with their brother-in-law this fall. They will 
take a Chinese teacher and a servant with them. 
My second brother is only twelve years old, but 
his Chinese is very good. I am always happy, 
because he is such a wise boy. At first my fa- 
ther wanted me and Van Yung also to go to 
Japan. I refused. I am only content at Soo- 
chow now, but Van Yung said that she would 
study medicine in Japan next year. 

I am studying my history, because I hope it 
can be finished before you go to America. I 
am also writing many large Chinese characters, 
because I am lonesome. I am glad to have great 
improvement in my Chinese characters, and my 
father and others said that if I will write dili- 
gently three months now, I can write on those 
beautiful papers [scrolls] that can be hung on 
the walls. 

I am always reading my Bible, and I pray 
every day. Now I believe God is good and 
true, and he is my protector. With sincere 
love. 

Your faithful pupil, Ji Yung. 



A BEAUTIFUL GEM. 



ZS 



No happier girl than Ji Yung came to school 
that autumn. The report of her marriage had 
spread among her schoolmates, so they showed 
their joy that she had been permitted to return. 
Her thoughtfulness and her helpful ways had 
made her a favorite, while her class standing 
had won sincere respect for her. How she 
enjoyed her new books! It was a disappoint- 
ment to her that she could not enter the Church. 

My Dear Teacher: I cannot tell you how 
sorry I am because you will leave so soon. I 
hope I will see you again ; but the time of more 
than a year is very long, and there must be 
some changes happened during it. 

I will always be a good and faithful girl. 
I will only trust myself to God and obey his 
will, that he may let me go to heaven after my 
death; and there, I believe, will be no sorrow 
of departure or any kind of sadness. Remem- 
ber me in your prayer always. 

Now, I have nothing to tell you except I will 
ask you to write to me some when you are at 
home. You know how sincerely I love you and 
how much I will miss you. 



36 A Beautiful gem. 

I present you these gold buttons in order to 
remind you how anxiously I will hope to hear 
from you. The characters on them mean: 
"Kind words or good news will always be given 
me from you." I am sorry the buttons are made 
too small by the storemen, and I do not know 
you can use them or not. Since small buttons 
are very fashionable with us now, the store- 
men have mistaken to make foreign ones also 
small. 

Will you please give this piece of silk to your 
mother, my grand teacher, in order to show the 
good will of your pupil to her? My presents 
are slight, but my love for you is unmeasurable. 
I hope you will be very strong on your journey. 
With most sincere love. 

Your affectionate pupil, Ji Yung. 

After my return to America on furlough, 
letters still came at intervals. The teachers at 
the Laura Haygood wrote of Ji Yung's progress 
as a student and of her beautiful Christian life. 

From her home during the New Year vaca- 
tion she wrote a letter about her mother's fif- 
tieth birthday celebration. 



A BEAUTIFUL GEM. 37 

West Gate, Wusih, February 5. 

My Dear Teacher: How happy I am to re- 
ceive your two letters just now ! I am also glad 
to know you are enjoying the happy time with 
your dear ones at home. 

We returned home last Friday just before 
my mother's birthday. All my examinations 
were passed nicely. The grade of my chemis- 
try is perfect; history, ninety-nine; and psy- 
chology, ninety-eight. The grades of the other 
books I do not know yet, because we went home 
before we could receive our papers. I shall 
have no history lesson next year. I am happy 
because my parents let me go to the school a 
year more, and I believe we can meet again. 

On my mother's birthday we all were very 
happy. There were many guests present, and 
we had many feasts. My present to my mother 
was a beautiful gold ring. 

I am all right, because God is merciful to me, 
and I will always love him and be faithful to 
him as I love you. I am exceedingly glad to 
know that you do not forget me. 



3g A BEAUTIFUL GEM. 

Our New Year is coming, and we will have 
many guests and will be very busy. 

My little niece, Vung Yung's daughter, is 
very lovely. She can call me aunt, and I play 
with her all the day. My sisters send love to 
you. 

No words can express how much I miss you. 
With best wishes and sincere love. 

Your affectionate pupil, Ji Yung. 

March 12, 1910. 

My Dear Teacher: Our vacation is over, and 
the school has been open for more than a week. 
My two brothers entered the Soochow Uni- 
versity week jDefore the last. My first brother 
is in the third year of the preparatory, and my 
second brother is in the second year. At first 
my parents wanted them to go to another coun- 
try to study, but later they thought my two 
brothers are too young to go abroad; there- 
fore I persuaded my parents to let them come 
to the University. I hope they will enjoy the 
gospel very much. 

My sister, Vung Yung, will go to Peking this 



A BEAUTIFUL GEM. 39 

summer. Before she goes she will come here 
to visit her teachers and schoolmates. 

Now I will tell you my own story, which I 
am very sorry to speak about. During the win- 
ter vacation I was told that I must marry on 
the twenty-first day of the Chinese seventh 
month. On hearing this I cannot tell you how 
sad I was. I could not make myself happy and 
quiet, and I was certainly disobedient. My 
family were all very sorry for me. My father 
said to me that it was not because he was un- 
kind to me^ but because he could not think out 
any plan. He has refused this thing for me 
more than three times, and this time he cannot 
refuse any more lest that family will be very 
angry with him. He also promised me that I 
can study as long as I like. If I cannot receive 
the diploma in this school, he will certainly help 
me to go to America. Therefore I can still 
come to school next term, and my father will 
send that man to the Soochow University too. 

During the winter vacation I have studied 
one-third of the trigonometry, which was taught 



40 A BEAUTIFUL GEM. 

by a teacher with the salary of thirty dollars a 
month. In the summer I will study the rest of 
the book. Now I think if I can finish the study 
by the end of the year, I will help my school 
next year. I will do this because I want to see 
you. 

I am teaching the little girls in the Sunday 
school, and I love them very much. 

The weather is very fine. I hope you will 
be happy at home. You cannot think how 
I miss you all the while. Good-by. With most 
sincere love. 

Your faithful pupil, Ji Yung. 

Miss Pyle tells me that when Ji Yung says, 
"I was certainly disobedient," she refers to her 
having broken her gold bracelets to atoms as a 
means of showing her displeasure. 

Laura Haygood Memorial, 
SoocHOW, April 8. 
My Dear Teacher: Your letter was received 
several days ago, and nothing makes me more 
happy than to hear from you. The weather is 



A BEAUTIFUL GEM. 41 

mild and delightful. I hope you will have the 
happiest time at home. I am very happy be- 
cause there is a great meeting in the Baptist 
church again. Most of us go there every day, 
and we enjoy the sermons very much. The 
meeting will last after this Sunday. I wish you 
were with us. 

I returned home for three days this Easter. 
When I reached home, I saw there were ten 
tailors making my dresses. My mother and 
sisters were very busy in preparing the things 
for my wedding, but I told them that I cared 
not about those things. They made me satin 
and red silk skirts which are very beautifully 
embroidered. I will show them when you 
come. They will buy me two rings, one dia- 
mond and one ruby. That family has sent to 
my parents three thousand dollars for prepar- 
ing my things. Since I do not like too many 
beautiful things, my father will give me more 
money instead of these. 

I have stopped my music for many days be- 
cause I am very busy. I am beginning Church 



42 A BEAUTIFUL GEM. 

history with Miss Smallwood, and I like it very 
much. With earnest love. 

Your faithful pupil, Ji Yung. 

Laura Haygood Memorial, 
SoocHOw, May i. 

My Dear Teacher: Our examinations are 
over, and we have a holiday now. My psychol- 
ogy and chemistry are perfect, and algebra is 
ninety-eight. We will begin our geometry to- 
morrow. 

I will tell you the happiest thing in the school, 
which you will be very glad to hear. During 
the revival meeting here, led by Mr. Li, all the 
pupils of our school except seven stood up to 
confess their sins. During the meeting we 
prayed five times a day for our schoolmates, 
and certainly God heard our prayers and gave 
us the greatest blessing. About ten girls be- 
came associate members of our Y. W. C. A. 
We divide the work of leading the new believ- 
ers among eight girls, and I am one of them. 
Me Yung and I have charge of two rooms, 
which contain more than ten girls. Now every 



A BEAUTIFUL GEM. 43 

day we have a Bible-reading meeting in the 
morning and a praying in the evening. I 
thank God for his many blessings upon us, and 
I will always be his true and faithful daughter. 

Yesterday an American lady, who came from 
Shanghai, gave us a nice sermon. She played 
the harp and sang many beautiful songs for us. 

There is a great exhibition of the products 
of all the Chinese provinces at Nanking, so our 
essays and the most excellent papers in exam- 
ination will be sent there. 

The weather is warm, and we have already 
worn our white uniforms. I am well, but very 
busy. Though I cannot write you as often as 
I want to write, truly I miss you all the while. 
With most sincere love and best wishes. 

Your faithful pupil, Ji Yung. 

Laura Haygood Memorial, 

SoocHOW, May 26. 

My Dear Teacher: Twice your letters were 

received when I was sick, and certainly they 

gave me great pleasure and much comfort. I 

had several chills last week, but I am well now. 



44 A BEAUTIFUL GEM. 

The weather is warm here. I hope you will be 
very happy. 

Vung Yung and her baby came several days 
ago, and stayed with us for three days. The 
baby is very cute, and now she can say the 
English word "happy." 

I have finished psychology and will begin 
my ethics to-morrow. We are studying geom- 
etry now, and I am glad it is much easier than 
algebra. I have also finished "Hamlet" just 
now, and I think it is a very interesting play. 

I will remain in the school for a month this 
summer, because Miss Pyle will teach me logic 
and astronomy during that time. I am very, 
very glad to stay here with Miss Pyle and I am 
very much thankful to her. 

There is a great meeting held near Kong 
Hong. There are more than a thousand people 
present every day, and now I hear that there 
are six hundred who determine to follow Christ. 
Certainly this is only God's power which can 
touch the hearts of so many persons. We still 
have prayer meetings every morning and night. 



A BEAUTIFUL GEM. 45 

I will return home in August, and my wed- 
ding day is the twenty-fourth of that month. 
I am very sorry, and I wish that day would not 
come. But I will ask you to pray for me, that 
after then my life will be a more useful one. 

When will you come back? I hope I can 
have several months together with you. My 
sisters send their warm regards to you. With 
most sincere love. 

Your faithful pupil, Ji Yung. 

Laura Haygood Memorial, 
SoocHOw, June 19. 

My Dear Teacher: Our examinations will 
begin next week, so we are very busy ; but to- 
day is Sunday, and I have the best time to 
write to you. The weather is very warm here. 
How are you? 

After more than ten days, all the pupils here 
will go home for summer vacation. But I will 
remain here with Miss Pyle and the matron for 
more than a month. I am glad Mrs. Coath 
also will teach me some English during that 
time. 



46 A BEAUTIFUL GEM. 

Yesterday our teachers invited us to a tea 
party on the Trueheart Home lawn, from seven 
o'clock to nine. At first we had a program 
given by the Literary Society, and then we ate 
cake, drank lemonade, and played games. All 
were very happy, only I missed you very 
much. The moon was bright, the gentle breeze 
blew, friends talked together merrily, and all 
had a nice time. 

The Nanking Exhibition, of which I told 
you before, has already begun. This is our 
first national exhibition, and all hope to go 
there, so multitudes reach Nanking every day. 
Many new and 'wonderful things are seen by 
them. I do not know whether I can go there 
or not. I am sorry you cannot see our exhi- 
bition. 

Everything here is in good condition. Miss 
Pyle and my other teachers are well and happy. 
Please excuse my poor writing, because I am 
not well, and suppose I will have another chill. 
Good-by. My sisters send love. 

Your affectionate pupil, Ji YuNG. 



A BEAUTIFUL GEM. 4;^ 

Laura Haygood Memorial, 
SoocHOw, July 17. 

My Dear Teacher: I have not heard from 
you for a long time, and I miss you exceedingly 
much. The weather is very hot here. I hope 
you are happy at home. 

I returned home for several days after vaca- 
tion began. Then I went to Shanghai and re- 
mained there for six days. I bought only a few 
things, because my father wants to give me 
money rather than things. But he will buy me 
a diamond ring, which costs about a thousand 
dollars, a ruby ring, and also some pearls for 
hairpins. I bought this fountain pen, and I 
think it is very nice. I have also bought two 
pairs of foreign shoes, one scarlet silk and the 
other blue, for my trousseau. 

I am in school again. I study six lessons 
every day — astronomy, ethics, logic, "Mac- 
beth," "As You Like It," and Lamb's "Essays 
of Elia." Miss Pyle teaches me astronomy and 
logic, and the rest are taught by Mrs. Coath. 
So I am busy and not lonesome. 



48 A BEAUTIFUL GEM. 

Now there is a great woman's meeting held 
in our school. We have about forty guests 
from Shanghai and Sung Kiang. In the morn- 
ing I have my lessons, but in the afternoon I 
go to their meeting every day. I am very, very 
happy- 

I will go home about a week before my wed- 
ding. I cannot tell you how troublesome my 
heart is all day and night, only I always feel 
happy in thinking of you, and believe you will 
not forget me. Moreover, I try to trust every- 
thing to God and pray sincerely that he will let 
me come to school again. My father has prom- 
ised me that J may come next term. I suppose 
Miss Pyle, Mrs. Coath, and Mrs. Nance will 
come to my wedding. I regret so much that 
you cannot come, but certainly I will miss you. 

Miss Pyle is very kind to me, and I do not 
know how to pay her. I am very comfortable 
to stay here, because I bring a servant with me 
from my home. Please give my love to your 
mother. 

Your affectionate pupil, Ji Yung. 



A BEAUTIFUL GEM. 49 

Miss Pyle says that Ji Yung's servant fol- 
lowed her about on those oppressive days, fan- 
ning her as she studied. 

One day I opened an envelope which con- 
tained the wedding card : 

Mr. and Mrs. Y. Y. Sih 

request the honor of your presence at 

the marriage of their daughter, 

Ji Yung, 

to 

Mr. K. Y. Tsz 

on Thursday, August the tzventy-Hfth, 

at four o'clock. 

The next letter I opened with bated breath. 
What would she say ? Would she be happy ? 

WusiH, September 11. 

My Dear, Dear Teacher: I haven't written 
to you for a long time, but I miss you every 
day. I hope you are always well and happy. 

Your beautiful gift came to me just the day 
before my marriage. I am exceedingly glad to 
receive it, and I do not know how to thank you. 
I will keep the spoon with great care as a re- 
membrance of you. 
4 



50 A BEAUTIFUL GEM. 

There were not very many guests at my 
wedding, because it was very hot. There were 
about eight schoolmates and my own relatives. 
All things were done partly according to the 
old custom and partly new. 

I am very glad he is determined to go to the 
Soochow University. So before long we will 
together go to Soochow. Moreover, my father- 
in-law will soon be an officer in some Southern 
province, and the whole family will, I suppose, 
migrate to Nanking. For these reasons I be- 
lieve I can go to school again next year. I 

want to thank God, who is merciful to me. 

Please don't forget me in your prayers. I 
think of you often. With most sincere love. 

Your affectionate pupil, Ji Yung. 

Laura Haygood Memorial, 
Soochow, October 8. 
My Dearest Teacher: Your letter of August 
22 was received with many, many thanks some 
days ago ; but I could not find any opportunity 
to write you, because I had many things to ar- 
range after my marriage. First of all, I was to 




JI YUNG, THE "beautiful GEM/' OUR FIRST GRADUATE. 



A BEAUTIFUL GEM. 



51 



make my husband to enter the Soochow Uni- 
versity. At first his father did not want him 
to come ; but at last my father arranged it, and 
he came last Saturday. His Chinese is excel- 
lent, and he can write beautiful poems ; but his 
English is not good. He cares for learning 
better than anything else, so he wants me to 
study as long as possible. 

Everything is going on hopefully with me, 
and I have nothing to trouble about now. The 
only thing I am hoping for is your return. I 
will remain in the school next year in order 
that I may enjoy some happy time with you. 
I will begin to write the essay for my gradu- 
ation soon, the subject of which is "Woman's 
Duty." Unfortunately the two great events 
of my life, marriage and graduation, both oc- 
cur during your absence, and I am very sorry 
to think about this. The time passes quickly. 
Soon Christmas and New Year will come, and 
after these you will start for China. 

Every one in the school is well and happy. 
God is kind and merciful to me, so I will al- 



52 A BEAUTIFUL GEM. 

ways do good and be his faithful daughter. 
I hope you and every one of your family are 
well. With most sincere love. 

I am ever your faithful pupil, Ji Yung. 

The Soochow University is across the street 
from the Laura Haygood Memorial. Ji Yung 
returned to finish her course in the one, while 
her husband entered the former. Letters from 
the others told me that she was a radiantly hap- 
py bride. Her marriage did not change her at- 
titude in school. 

Laura Haygood Memorial, 
Soochow, October 22. 

My Ever Q ear est Teacher: Your note was 
received from Miss Pyle several days ago. 
How thankful I am for your kindness to me ! 
I will always be a true, faithful girl. 

I hope you will have a good rest at your 
brother's home. I am glad to think that after 
about three months you will be here again. 

My graduating dress has already been pre- 
pared. It is made of a piece of light blue satin, 
embroidered with eight flowery baskets. The 



A BEAUTIFUL GEM. 53 

material was given to me by my father's friend 
as my wedding gift. It cost about sixty dollars. 
At the present time there are only three pieces 
like it in China, but later I think there will be 
very many. So my dress will be very fash- 
ionable and beautiful. 

Everything is going on very well with me. 
My husband enjoys his studies very much. I 
think of you all the while, and hope you and 
all your dear ones at home are well. With 
most sincere love. 

Your faithful pupil, Ji Yung. 

The commencement day was January 12, on 
which day throngsr of visitors, prominent offi- 
cials, yea, even the Governor himself and the 
American Consul General, Dr. A. P. Wilder, 
came. And Ji Yung, our first graduate, the 
beautiful gem — now more beautiful because of 
the polishing — read her essay on "Woman's 
Duty," and was applauded till the walls rang. 
Afterwards she received her diploma from the 
Principal, Miss Pyle, and spoke a few words of 
thanks for all she had gained from the school. 

On the steamship Mongolia, returning to 



54 



A BEAUTIFUL GEM. 



China, I was praying for her. Letters were 
awaiting me at each port, and from these let- 
ters I gleaned interesting items about the prep- 
arations and the success of the day. I give 
extracts : 

"I am sorry you will not be here to see Ji 
Yung graduate. The day is going to mean so 
much to her^ and she seems radiantly happy. 
She is a splendid girl to send out as our first 
graduate." 

"We are just over commencement. Ji Yung 
was all you could expect of her and more. We 
are all proud of her." 

''Well, commencement is over. Everything 
went off beautifully. Ji Yung was so hand- 
some, and we -^yere proud of her." 

"Ji Yung covered herself with glory. The 
Governor astonished us by delivering a speech 
through an interpreter. Ji Yung is magnifi- 
cent." 

I insert the words of thanks Ji Yung spoke; 
also the editorial of an English newspaper in 
Shanghai in regard to her essay. 

Speech of Thanks. 

"I wish to avail myself of this opportunity 
to express my thanks to all my teachers for the 



A BEAUTIFUL GEM. 55 

great advantages and moral teachings I have 
obtained from them during these years, and at 
the same time I wish to say a few things in ap- 
preciation of the good order and the successful 
methods of teaching in our school. 

"First of all, I would state that when I came 
here I was a little girl and was very weak 
physically; but soon, under the kind protec- 
tion of my teachers, by the regularity of 
meals, sleeping hours, playtime, and by exer- 
cise in the gymnasium, I became stronger every 
day. This can show the excellent hygienic con- 
dition of our school. 

"Next, before I came here I knew nothing 
except a few Chinese characters. Now I am 
sure the improvement in both my Chinese and 
English has been great and rapid. Above all 
are the precious teachings of love and truth my 
teachers have given me. O, I cannot describe 
how much my life has been enriched and en- 
larged through study since I came here! All 
these things can prove the enthusiasm of my 
teachers in education and the influence of their 
characters. I hope that many, many more girls 
will be glad to come and enjoy the same ad- 
vantages that I have already obtained. 

"Now, learning is infinite, and nobody can be 



56 A BEAUTIFUL GEM. 

content with what he has already attained. Just 
as one who starts to cHmb a mountain feels that 
he must reach the highest point before he stops, 
so this diploma does not mark the end of my 
study. It is but encouragement for my future 
work and hope. Hereafter I ought to be more 
industrious in my study and press forward to 
reach the highest degree of learning. On the 
other hand, we students ought not to be selfish 
in our learning, and should not study for our 
own benefit alone, but for the general good. 
To-day we know education is one of the most 
important things to be regarded in our country, 
and certainly China is expecting every success- 
ful student to do his duty in uplifting education. 
Therefore, though I have but a little learning, 
I will not be seMish, and will be very glad to 
help even with my little. Some one has inspir- 
ingly said : 

Do what you can ; be what you are. 

Shine like a glowworm, if you cannot like a star. 

So I will do all I can, and wish to shine like a 
glowworm among my people, if I cannot shine 
like a star. 

^'Again I wish to thank my teachers, and I 
also thank all of you, our guests, who by your 



A BEAUTIFUL GEM. 57 

presence here manifest an interest in this my 
graduation day." 

Editorial in a Shanghai Daily. 
An Educated Chinese Lady. 

"We have before us as we write a copy of 
a graduating essay written by a young Chinese 
lady and read before her friends, schoolmates, 
and tutors at a recent commencement. It is 
fair to say that it was neither written nor read 
in Shanghai. The interest in it, therefore, is 
not local, except so far as Shanghai is interested 
in the undoubted progress that is being made 
by China, thanks to the stimulus of the West. 
Knowing something of the work of the local 
colleges and schools for native boys and young 
men, the present product is all the more attrac- 
tive, since it is the first advanced feminine work 
of the kind that we have seen. When one re- 
members the abysmal darkness of the ordinary 
woman's intellect in China, and contrasts it with 
this, one cannot but recall the case of Lady Jane 
Grey, whose accomplishments were to those of 
her contemporary sisters much as those of the 
lady we now have the honor to refer to must 
be to the average Chinese woman of to-day. 



58 A BEAUTIFUL GEM. 

"The essay takes for its theme the importance 
of woman's duty. It is written in charmingly 
simple and very pure English. Briefly at the 
start it marks the difference between the duty 
of man and that of woman, the various kinds 
of the latter being freely sketched. A very 
natural digression then follows in order to 
show how different times and circumstances 
may modify the duty of woman; for there is 
of necessity in such a case a contrast drawn 
between the condition of woman in China and 
woman in the West. The answer to the ques- 
tion, How is woman to attain liberty and equal- 
ity with man? is answered thus: To perform 
her duty is the only possible way.' Duty, more- 
over, has a political side in China at this mo- 
ment. It is not alone the masculine element 
that is restless and ill at ease. Enlightened 
women are no less anxious respecting the im- 
mediate future, and the adoption of a constitu- 
tion creeps even into a girl's graduating essay. 

"There is plenty of internal evidence as to the 
breadth of reading which the writer has done. 
She quotes Spencer on the matter of the sur- 
vival of the fittest ; she has an apt citation from 
a speech of Mr. Gladstone's; she refers with 
some pride evidently to Abraham Lincoln's 



A BEAUTIFUL GEM. c^g 

declaration, *A11 that I am I owe to my moth- 
er/ and shows that China has had mothers of 
precisely the same type. She has also a passing 
allusion to Milton. All this, taken in conjunc- 
tion with the excellence of the English, points 
to an extremely good system of instruction in 
English language and literature. We should 
not have expected anything better from a stu- 
dent of Girton or Newnham [higher educa- 
tional institutions for women in England]. 
Nor is it English alone that has apparently oc- 
cupied the time of this young lady. She quotes 
from the lives of notable women in Chinese 
history, mentioning some half dozen or more 
and comparing them with Joan of Arc. 

"The ordinary foreigner, not too well ac- 
quainted with the inside of Chinese life, would 
find in the essay various rays of enlightenment. 
*I learned in the study of ethics,' says the writ- 
er, 'that a human personality is never an iso- 
lated and independent phenomenon;' and with 
this as a text there is a pretty little homily on 
social duties which in China are not exactly 
according to the writer's taste as yet. Speak- 
ing of the use of opium and the binding of 
women's feet, she says: 'We all realize how 
great is the grief and desolation they have 



6o A BEAUTIFUL GEM. 

wrought to our people/ Idol worship is simi- 
larly deplored, together with waste of time and 
money, especially on the part of women in con- 
nection with them. We might go on for some 
time discussing the excellencies of this remark- 
able paper, but must refrain. 

"What, however^ should be done in closing 
this brief reference to a very interesting sub- 
ject is the old-fashioned duty of pointing the 
moral. That Chinese youths were getting ex- 
cellent tuition in various institutions we were 
aware, but it is quite news to us to learn, and 
that so practically, that Chinese young ladies 
are being equally well prepared. If we had any 
doubts before as to the promise of the future 
for China, this Hew evidence would have dis- 
pelled them all; for when both fathers and 
mothers of the future are as well fitted for 
their duties as these, there can be little fear 
that the enlightenment so well begun will con- 
tinue and bring forth those results which Chi- 
na's best friends most desire to see. Congratu- 
lations may therefore be offered on such an 
auspicious occasion both to the students who 
do so well and to the teachers who have borne 
the burden and heat of the educational day." 



A BEAUTIFUL GEM. 6l 

The Laura Hay good is never more beautiful 
than to those who return to find a home and 
welcome there. I reached China during the 
festive New Year season, when China is her 
gayest and usually her coldest. The pupils 
were all at home for the midwinter vacation. 

Ji Yung's letter of cheer and welcome was 
one of the good things that came to me. 

West Gate, Wusih, February i6. 

My Ever Dearest Teacher: Nobody can feel 
more happy over your return than I do. I can- 
not describe the joy in my heart just because I 
will see you soon. How much I wanted to go 
to Shanghai to welcome you! But circum- 
stances prevented me from going. 

Though I haven't seen you since your return, 
I have already met you more than three times 
in my dreams. I saw you dressed in linen of 
cream color, and you called me to come to your 
study to talk with you. I am sorry I cannot 
go to the school with my sisters to-morrow. I 
will come a few days later. My husband is 
here, and he will enter the normal school at 
Nanking soon. So he is busy studying algebra, 



62 A BEAUTIFUL GEM. 

grammar, and chemistry. He will leave Fri- 
day. Good-by. With most sincere love. 
Your ever affectionate pupil, Ji Yung. 

Ji Yung came a week later, sweet, simple, 
true, and faithful. She is studying some while 
she gives her services to the school. 

Our beautiful gem must soon go to be the 
glory of her husband's home as one of China's 
matrons. There are doubtless other lights that 
the great Master sees which must be brought 
out from this jewel, other rays to be emitted as 
time goes on, softer and more subdued lights 
that maturer years will cause to glow. 

"And they that be wise shall shine as the 
brightness of the firmament ; and they that turn 
many to righteousness as the stars forever and 
ever." 



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